Truly Madly Ghostly

Chapter Twenty-five : The Bitter Truth

"Please...," Charlotte pleaded as Linda stood dumbfounded. "Help me," her voice croaked as she truly felt helpless. Her sanity was in question here and it was not possible to validate an impossible truth alone.

Slowly, the look of conflict moved away from Linda's face. The girl sighed before finally replying, "It is real." The door was closed beside them and they were talking in low voices, but still, she glanced at it before settling her eyes back on Charlotte's pale gone face. "Your floor is haunted," she said in a further lower voice, arms going up to hug herself. "Mr. Dias forbade anyone to speak of it, especially me."

Charlotte felt the ground beneath her feet tremor but it was no earthquake, she knew—the tremors came from her own body. She didn't know whether to feel relieved that she was not actually losing her mind, feel petrified of being in so close contact with something that can not be explained in ordinary words, or grieve that the one who had slowly slipped into her heart did not exist in the rational world of the living.

"That day—," Charlotte asked in a low, weak tone of voice. "What did you see in the corridor that day, Linda?" Even before the answer was delivered, she already dreaded it.

Preceding the revelation, Linda's face turned a bit pale. It was clear that she didn't wish to go down that particular memory lane. "I—" she paused for a moment to wet her dry lips with her tongue. "I saw a tall, dark figure," with quick breathing, she continued, "His face was blurry and it seemed like he was coming out of his own shadow from the wall. And his eyes—oh, his eyes—" her eyelids fluttered close, remembering the frightening piece of information. "His eyes were not like ours. They can not be of someone living—pitch black, large, and horrifying. The few moments I could see what I saw was the most disconcerting moments of my life." 

Thunderstruck, Charlotte took a staggering step back. 

So, everything was real. 

Alex was not a hallucination. Not her sick mind's creation—not a fragment of her imagination. Nevertheless, she didn't know if this information was a thing to celebrate or grieve over. She felt relieved, frightened, and heartbroken among many other conflicting emotions. But one thing was certain—she had touched a darkness that was not meant to be touched. Shadows were stirred, in consequence, and she had lured something impossible out of them. 

More than half an hour later, she found herself at Essex street, standing on the other side of the road, facing Rebecca's apartment. The signboard still proudly looked down upon her from where it stood above her shop. 100% accurate fortune telling and aura reading.

And she moved her feet to cross the street, still feeling submerged in the trance of the revelation. 

Not wanting to face the one who still waited for her in the darkness, she hadn't gone back to her apartment. Her throat felt constricted and she was unable to think straight. There was only comfort that she sought at the moment and her chaotic mind provided her with flashbacks of what Rebecca had told her that night. How silly she was to brush away her words!

All that she had believed and did not believe in standing on the strong foundation of science and logic were abruptly turned upside down. And suddenly, she did not know where to stand anymore. 

Surprisingly, just before she reached the stairs that led to the main glass doors, it was suddenly yanked open. Rebecca stood with a knowing smile on her lips. "I had a dream of you last night."

Silent and startled, Charlotte stood there. 

Seeing her undecided, Rebecca gestured to the inside of her shop. "Come on, now. Get in. I've been waiting for you."

The woman talked in a creepy way, yet Charlotte knew she was perhaps the only person who could provide her a direction across this precarious route. 

So, she was soon seated with Rebecca in a small antique-looking lounge, behind the curtains she saw last time. There were two teacups already on the table between them. The tea was freshly made and served before she entered the room. It was like Rebecca already knew, somehow, that Charlotte was on her way to meet her. She recalled that when she had come by to bring Nova home—Rebecca had prepared dinner for them in advance too.